What Makes Tanjiro Kamado Black Nichiren So Special?
Tanjiro Kamado had sworn to become a powerful demon slayer upon joining the demon-slaying corps to avenge his family's gruesome demise and find a cure for his sister who mysteriously turned into a demon herself. His sword-wielding skills have improved drastically ever since, and have reached a level of mastery that has turned him into a promising swordfighter with immense potential!
We all know Tanjiro’s impressive strength, but what is it exactly that makes him and his katana so special? Has Tanjiro already transitioned into a powerful Demon slayer, or is there still a long way to go? What secret lies behind the famous Black Nichiren sword that he carries along with him? And many more interesting facts that we'll uncover in this blog today!
Tanjiro was given the famous Black Nichiren sword- his very own demon-slaying katana after he joined the demon corps.
Let's delve into the details, and see what makes his sword so powerful and unique.
About Demon Slayer Nichiren Blades
All blades from the popular anime Demon slayer are made from a special ore that absorbs sunlight. The sunlight absorbing weapons are excellent tools for killing demons since every demon's prime weakness happens to be sunlight.
Every forged Nichiren in the series takes on a distinct colour when drawn by its user, that lends certain properties to the blade. The usage of the sword is specific to its wielder since everyone has a different breathing style, and the properties of each blade correlate to the respective breathing styles its wielder uses during combats.
While Tanjiro’s swordsmith welded Tanjiro’s sword, the colour red was expected to appear on his blade, but surprisingly it turned pitch black! The reason behind this was never provided in the series, but after careful analysis, the following can be concluded.
Inosuke's and Zenitsu’s and everyone else's blades took on the colour which is affiliated with their respective breathing style. This hints towards Tanjiro's signature breathing style being the famous Sun breathing style that all other breathing styles are known to be derivatives of. This would explain the black Nichiren blade since the colour black also happens to be the combination of all colours. It also makes sense because we have various instances in the anime that shows us how only the Kamado family wields the powerful sun breathing, and with only Tanjiro remaining as the sole member of the lineage now, we can prepare ourselves to witness more of Tanjiro using sun breathing ahead in the series!
Why Is It Special?
The black Nichiren katana is very rare; although very special, its rarity has caused its origin to remain unknown, besides an unfortunate omen that follows it. It says that black blade wielders are known to have reduced life spans. Does that hint towards Tanjiro dying early? It seems unlikely since Tanjiro is the protagonist of the show. However, it is something only the creators would know, but we can expect ourselves to see some interesting twists in the plot as the anime advances!
What else makes Tanjiro’s Black blade special is the fact that Yoriichi Tsugikuni, a historic prodigy from 500 years ago who is known to be the best demon slayer swordsman to have existed also wielded a Black Nichiren katana. There are other similarities that Tanjiro and Yoriichi share, like their forehead scars, and they have been acknowledged by other characters in the anime as well!
In addition to this interesting train of facts, another noteworthy element of the show as we all know is that Tanjiro Kamado, despite wielding a Black Nichiren blade, specializes in Water breathing techniques. His signature sword fighting style and stances, titled “Kage no Mizu”, or the “Shadow of water” allows him to use twelve different sword forms to utilize his water breathing techniques during combat. His diverse fighting styles also make him a worthy opponent!
Tanjiro's natural abilities and his black Nichiren blade might not be the strongest at the moment, but there's a high chance that we might see some significant changes in the ranking very soon!